Soil sampling is a key part of many projects, whether it be during exploration, or soil remediation and site clean-up. A key part of this is the collection of reliable data to quickly assess soil composition. Handheld Bruker XRF instruments have become a valuable tool in the characterisation of soil samples with a range of applications. The ability to rapidly (30-60 seconds per sample) and accurately analyse the soil with a non-destructive method that requires no sample preparation means that projects can meet their deadlines and do not go over budget.
Handheld XRF instruments cover a comprehensive range of elements and can provide accurate and precise quantitative data for elements from sodium to uranium. With an analysis area of 8mm in diameter and a penetration depth of up to 1cm, a representative elemental composition of your sample can be obtained with a single scan in less than a minute. Running a quick analysis (30 second scan) can generate results that provide a good indication for pass/fail testing, when looking at elemental thresholds. A longer 60 second scan time will generate accurate data that can be used robustly for compositional analysis of your samples.
• In-situ Analysis: This requires no sample preparation, with the fast, non-destructive analysis of the soil, designed to rapidly identify elemental composition directly on the ground.
• Indirect Analysis: Some sample preparation is necessary to provide quality semi-quantitative results, with the material being collected and placed into Ziploc bags to create a more homogenized sample.
• Ex-situ Analysis: Sample preparation involves grinding, sieving and packing dried soil into cups to deliver high quality data that correlates to lab results with r2 values of 0.98.
• In-situ and real-time analysis of the soil with a complete element composition and heavy metal contamination profile.
• The ability to analyse in-situ and onsite can eliminate or reduce the cost and turnaround time associated with sending samples to a lab, with data collection possible in hours rather than weeks.
• Only need to send 5-10% of samples analysed with the XRF in the field to the lab for confirmation, reducing the number of samples sent to the lab.
• Excellent calibrations and technology purpose built for in-situ soil testing.
The Bruker tools available today for soil analysis offer great flexibility, speed and accuracy, and are a crucial addition to any soil characterisation, monitoring or remediation study.
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